The Union Minister for Human Resource Development and Communications and Information Technology, Shri Kapil Sibal launching the “Aakash Low Cost Access Device (LCAD)”, in New Delhi
NEW DELHI (NNN-AGENCIES) -- The world’s cheapest tablet computer, on sale for as little as $35, has been unveiled in India in the latest attempt by the emerging economy to shift from being a global outsourcing centre to one of frugal innovation for lower-income consumers.
Wednesday’s launch of the Aakash – which means “sky” in Hindi – is designed to boost e-learning to help India solve its education problems and bridge the digital divide that sees Asia ’s third-largest economy lag behind its emerging market peers in internet access.
“The rich have access to the digital world; the poor and ordinary have been excluded. Aakash will end that digital divide,” said Kapil Sibal, the education minister, who came up with the idea for an ultra low-cost tablet.
The Indian government put out a tender for the tablet to be developed, and plans to sell 100,000 units of Aakash – which has the same-size as the 7-inch Amazon Kindle Fire, which launched last week to great fanfare for $199, but with much more primitive specs – to students in secondary schools for $35. Meanwhile, consumers will be able to buy a retail version for about $60.
Aakash, which has been developed by DataWind, a small Canada-based group owned by a Canadian entrepreneur of Indian descent, runs on Google’s Android platform, with a 2GB memory card, a 32 GB memory capacity and two USB ports.
The device will also have WiFi connectivity that could help boost internet usage in a country where it is dismally low. According to 2009 data, India has 5.1 internet users for every 100 people, compared with 39.2 Brazil and 28.5 for China
Aakash comes two years after Indian carmaker Tata Motors released the Nano, the world’s cheapest car at about $2,000. -- NNN-AGENCIES
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